Monday, September 11, 2017

Mutant

We’ve covered mutants in this space before—the Inner Sea Bestiary’s Mana Wastes mutants,
of course—but Bestiary 5’s mutants are
their own breed and deserve their own entry. Besides, by and large Mana Wastes mutants all
fit mostly the same mold (or template, as it were): the same ability bonuses, a
shared list of benefits, a few acid- and disease-focused special abilities, and
a small menu of deformities…which makes sense for mutants all forged in the
same brutal crucible.

On the other hand, Bestiary
5’s mutant template throws open the ability bonus/penalty doors and unlocks
a pretty full spectrum of 20 beneficial mutations and 12 harmful deformities
for the GM to choose from.This allows you
to customize your mutants at the colony level (maybe all the mutants in this
sewer have gills…) or by individual (…but the one about to sneak attack you
also has an extra arm and a terrible stench).(Oh, and wouldn’t you know it, 20 and 12 just happen to be numbers you
have icosahedral dice for—perfect for those of you who love rolling on random
mutation tables like it’s 1978.)

Once you’ve statted up your mutants, it’s time to turn to
the eternal questions: 1) How did they get that way; 2) is however they got
that way another wrinkle/challenge you can use to enrich your players’
experience (swamp muties gonna swamp, but is that swampiness reflective of
their environment or perhaps because of a radioactive MacGuffin?); and 3) what
do they want right this minute?Fantasy RPGs
being what they are, usually what these fantasy mutants want right this minute
is not to found an integrated private school in Westchester, NY, to learn to hone their powers in a world that hates and fears them(RIP Len Wein, BTW), but rather they’d
prefer to club the PCs’ brains in and roast them on a spit.After all, swamp muties gonna swamp.

Adventurers are
cornered by mutantsin a radioactive wasteland.They are quickly overwhelmed and nearly
pummeled to paste by a three-armed ettin.At the last minute, they are saved by the appearance of an undead
creature with glowing eyes and sore-covered, flaking orange skin.This is one of the irradiated dead (see Pathfinder Adventure Path #87:
The Choking Tower), and its very
presence inspires terror in the mutants.If the adventures defeat the ravening undead—particular if they use
divine magic, which the mutants have failed to master—the twisted humanoids are
willing to parley with the adventurers.

The Bone Star is
not a star at all, but a miles-long satellite roughly resembling a human
femur.Normally a teleportation gate
connects the two ends of the Bone Star, allowing the telepathic sages on each
extremity to pursue their research, trade ideas, and share shipments of food
and supplies from the worlds beyond.But
when the gate goes down and a solar cyclone delays the resupply ships,
adventures must venture into the mysterious and disused central shaft.Here the biosphere chambers were long ago
overrun by sentient molds, malfunctioning robots, and mutant descendants of the
original scientists who failed in their stewardship of the satellite.

Mutations are a
plague in most subterranean realms.Some
even breed true—the drow underclass of Civ Po’Dan are extremely quick but
bird-boned, while their counterparts in Chevar Yith tend toward armored scales
and mad fits of rage.Meanwhile, one in
five troglodytes is born mindless; their sacrifice to the roper
philosopher-beasts is a tradition on its way to becoming a sacrament. The mutations are actually a side effect of
the ceremonies that imbue drow nobles with their magical legacies.If anyone knew this, it would change the
politics of the Underrealms forever.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 5
180–181

Last time I was posting late because of the eclipse; this
time I was busy with the usual hospital stuff and helping my mom celebrate my
dad’s 70th birthday.But I’m thrilled as
always to be back hanging out in your Tumblr feed!

Bummed to see James L. Sutter move on from Paizo but psyched
for him as well.I don’t have enough hours
in my day today to give him a proper sendoff (hell, I still owe Wes a proper
sendoff and his departure was in May)
but suffice it to say I’m a big fan of James, I’ve enjoyed every one of his
books I’ve read and our interactions out in Seattle (he was my tour guide
through the Paizo offices), I think he’s making a smart move, and I wish him
all the best.

Oh snap! Only a few hours left to stream/download my first show of the fall semester! (The
link expires at midnight. Sorry about
the tardiness, guys.) While it lasts,
enjoy Labor Day tunes for you rebellious proles and some wistful tunes for you
sophomore sad sacks. If you miss it,
don’t worry—there’s a new one happening tomorrow (Tuesday night, 09/12/17) at
10 PM U.S. Eastern.Tune in!

By the way, please forgive the occasional typos. I am aware of them, but disagreements between MS Word and the Blogger template make my entries nearly impossible to edit once posted. I blame gremlins. You can find a more polished version of this blog over on Tumblr.